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FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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1652 Willow Tree Shilling -- Double Struck -- MS62 PCGS Secure. CAC. Noe 1-A, W-150, Salmon 1-A, High R.6. 75.30 gn. Oak Tree and Pine Tree coinage from the 17th century Boston Mint is always available for a price. But the Early American collector soon learns that the Willow Tree series is very rare. Money alone will not complete a collection; one must wait patiently, perhaps for years, until a desired variety in a desirable grade appears at auction. One of six die marriages of Willow Tree shillings, Noe 1-A has a closely spaced SAT in MASATHVSETS. Usually, though, it is attributed by elimination of the other possible varieties, based on the portion of the design present on both sides.
Willow Tree coinage was struck from a primitive roller press, which left pieces with an inconsistent impression. Typically, the coins were struck multiple times, and survivors show both flat and well-defined areas from the different strikes. The present piece is no exception. It was struck at least three times. The top of a secondary 6 is apparent above the 5 in the date, and the letters EWE from NEW ENGLAND are doubled with a wide spread on the lower reverse. The piece is dished from its impressions, with a concave obverse and a convex reverse. An approximately linear Boston Mint clip between 2:30 and 5 o'clock gives the coin an oval appearance. Nonetheless, the weight exceeds each of the other eight examples known to Sydney P. Noe in 1943, which range from 68.25 to 74 grains. The gunmetal-gray surfaces are lustrous and lightly marked.
In 2005, Michael Hodder stated he knew of 13 examples of Noe 1-A. Another emerged as lot 3003 in our August 2010 Boston ANA Signature, which makes 14 known. At least three are in museums: the American Numismatic Society, Yale University, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The present coin (Noe Plate #5) is likely the finest available to collectors. The Garrett Collection example (Noe Plate #6) was cataloged as Superb AU. The Donald Groves Partrick specimens were respectively graded XF45 and Fine Details by NGC. The example from Part 9 of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection (Noe Plate #2) has been graded VF35 by PCGS. The present lot is the only Willow Tree shilling certified as Mint State by PCGS. The single-finest at NGC is graded MS61 (11/16). Listed on page 40 of the 2017 Guide Book.
Ex: Matthew A. Stickney Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1907), lot 2; C.H. Stearns Collection (Mayflower, 12/1966), lot 5; Lester Merkin; Henry P. Kendall Foundation Collection (Stack's-Bowers, 3/2015), lot 2308.
1652 Willow Tree Shilling -- Double Struck -- MS62 PCGS Secure. CAC. Noe 1-A, W-150, Salmon 1-A, High R.6. 75.30 gn. Oak Tree and Pine Tree coinage from the 17th century Boston Mint is always available for a price. But the Early American collector soon learns that the Willow Tree series is very rare. Money alone will not complete a collection; one must wait patiently, perhaps for years, until a desired variety in a desirable grade appears at auction. One of six die marriages of Willow Tree shillings, Noe 1-A has a closely spaced SAT in MASATHVSETS. Usually, though, it is attributed by elimination of the other possible varieties, based on the portion of the design present on both sides.
Willow Tree coinage was struck from a primitive roller press, which left pieces with an inconsistent impression. Typically, the coins were struck multiple times, and survivors show both flat and well-defined areas from the different strikes. The present piece is no exception. It was struck at least three times. The top of a secondary 6 is apparent above the 5 in the date, and the letters EWE from NEW ENGLAND are doubled with a wide spread on the lower reverse. The piece is dished from its impressions, with a concave obverse and a convex reverse. An approximately linear Boston Mint clip between 2:30 and 5 o'clock gives the coin an oval appearance. Nonetheless, the weight exceeds each of the other eight examples known to Sydney P. Noe in 1943, which range from 68.25 to 74 grains. The gunmetal-gray surfaces are lustrous and lightly marked.
In 2005, Michael Hodder stated he knew of 13 examples of Noe 1-A. Another emerged as lot 3003 in our August 2010 Boston ANA Signature, which makes 14 known. At least three are in museums: the American Numismatic Society, Yale University, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The present coin (Noe Plate #5) is likely the finest available to collectors. The Garrett Collection example (Noe Plate #6) was cataloged as Superb AU. The Donald Groves Partrick specimens were respectively graded XF45 and Fine Details by NGC. The example from Part 9 of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection (Noe Plate #2) has been graded VF35 by PCGS. The present lot is the only Willow Tree shilling certified as Mint State by PCGS. The single-finest at NGC is graded MS61 (11/16). Listed on page 40 of the 2017 Guide Book.
Ex: Matthew A. Stickney Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1907), lot 2; C.H. Stearns Collection (Mayflower, 12/1966), lot 5; Lester Merkin; Henry P. Kendall Foundation Collection (Stack's-Bowers, 3/2015), lot 2308.